Online video marketing strategies and business opportunities in 2021

10 min readJan 6, 2021

Online video marketing strategies and business opportunities in 2021

It’s a new year, and finally a fresh start. With many small businesses still feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s time to be thinking about ways to bounce back and thrive this year.

There’s never been a better time to launch a serious online video marketing campaign.

Over the past year, online video marketing proved to be a wise investment for those already in the game. Statistics reported by tech giant Wyzowl show that 89% of video marketers reported video marketing for business gives them a good return on their investment, and more than three-quarters of customers say they now prefer learning about a product or service through online video, according to G2.

What’s more, online video content has convinced 84% of people to purchase a product or service after watching a brand’s video marketing.

And online video marketing, already the biggest content marketing format, is only getting bigger in 2021. Customers are predicted to spend 100 minutes a day watching online videos, according to marketing strategists with Smart Insights.

So here are some practical online video marketing strategies your business can use to take advantage of what’s coming in 2021 and keep up with all the new content being produced:

Focus on social and mobile-friendly online video marketing content

We’re using our mobile devices more than ever — on average mobile video consumption doubles each year, according to G2. That means video will need to perform well across both mobile and desktop platforms and various social media channels.

Businesses are already anticipating a big focus on mobile-friendly video marketing. Projections show mobile video ad spending will be 72% of total digital ad spending in 2021, according to G2. That focus on mobile video content makes sense — G2 found that 51% of smartphone users discovered a new company or brand when they were on their mobile devices, and 76% of respondents said they use their smartphones to search for products or services nearby. A mobile-friendly video marketing strategy for your business is a great way to attract new eyes to your brand.

Produce online videos of various lengths, but be wise about your workflow

So how long are people actually watching these amazing videos? Well, studies show that videos under two minutes in length see the most engagement. However, online videos that are too short — just a few seconds — aren’t effective either. However, longer video content on YouTube can be successful. The average length of the top 10 trending videos of 2020 was a whopping 18:33 minutes long.

Online video marketing strategies for businesses should focus on developing an impactful message and getting it across quickly as more brands push their content and compete for consumer attention. Any good marketer knows to look for opportunities to repurpose and repackage content in different lengths and different platforms.

Luckily, there will soon be an easier way to do all that. According to an article in Forbes, serial entrepreneur Paul Robert Cary is developing a cloud-based video editing software program called Kamua to automate some video production tasks. Cary developed the software with video content marketers in mind — knowing they will need to produce lots of online video marketing content in several iterations to keep up with their competition. The goal is to make it easier to produce multiple versions of the same video so they’re optimized for each platform they’ll be viewed on, thus easing the work burden on video marketing professionals.

Of note, TikTok is playing around with allowing three-minute videos on the app, so there seems to be some wiggle room there on the 2021 horizon, according to Glossy.

Start by weaving online video into your existing business marketing content

Bloggers and online news outlets have figured out that attaching a short video to posts will boost traffic and improve search engine results. Marketing experts at Business 2 Community suggest that businesses that still need to take the first step toward online video marketing should begin by adding online video content into existing blog posts and web pages. This way, businesses can get the momentum going and boost engagement on content that’s already completed.

Adding video to your content will also improve your Google rating getting you closer or higher on the front page of search results, according to an article in Inc. Magazine. To accomplish this, you’ll need to research the right long-tail and short-tail keywords to include in metadata and titles or consider what customers looking for your product typically search for and be sure to include those terms.

Harness the power of user-generated content, but don’t rely solely on it

Encouraging your followers to post their own content can be a fun way to drum up attention for your brand and maybe go viral if you’re lucky, but you can’t rely on your customers to do all the heavy lifting. According to Smart Insights, it’s important to continue investing in professional video marketing services in the coming year — as well as market research services and reputation management.

User-generated content can bring in fresh viewpoints and establish credibility for your brand. When a real consumer is talking about your product, people are more inclined to trust that person’s objective opinion. We can see that in the popularity of unboxing videos and product reviews that are all over YouTube.

When in doubt, make content that’s useful for your consumers

Just because online video marketing for business is challenging and competitive doesn’t mean it can’t be a great tool. It’s extremely good at helping people learn and process information, with 95% of people reporting they retain information better by watching video than by consuming other forms of content, according to G2. Instructional videos have become a huge asset that brands are leveraging, which is convenient since they’re already experts at the products and services they’re offering. Marketing company Cardinal Digital Marketing suggests using webinars as an opportunity to jump into this area of online video marketing.

On a related note, young social media giant TikTok, as of December, began testing a feature called the Learn Lab that hosts purely instructional videos on the app, according to an article in TechCrunch. The short how-to videos demonstrate the best way to use a product or complete a task, a simple opportunity for a brand to show off their knowledge and offerings.

Give your customers an authentic glimpse into your brand

After a pretty doomy and gloomy year, people are looking for some genuine connection in 2021.

As Viewstream founder John Assalian recently wrote in Forbes, brands will need to tell an authentic story to resonate with customers. “What is that magical, core ‘thing’ about your product or solution?” Assalian writes. “How do you see the world differently from others? Answering these questions will create a more genuine story for your video.”

Consider Search Engine Marketing research

Assalian also suggests to conduct Search Engine Marketing, sometimes called SEM, research before embarking on an online video marketing project. This is meant to understand what terms potential customers or clients search for, so video marketers can tailor their content to those terms.

Those were some ideas for content strategies for video marketing professionals to think about heading into the new year. Understand that online video marketing is an increasingly competitive arena, but working smarter instead of harder will help you achieve great results for your business and clients.

Now, let’s focus on where your online marketing videos will be published. Here’s a look at social media and other online video marketing platforms and what to expect in the new year:

TikTok is no longer just an app for stir-crazy teens, and brands are jumping aboard.

Even with the U.S. government threatening for much of the year to ban the app, TikTok had its strongest year yet in 2020, according to a report in Glossy magazine. With more than 1 billion videos viewed on TikTok every day, the wildly popular mobile app is poised to take big strides in business marketing integration in the coming year. Its new branding partnership with Shopify allows merchants to create, run and optimize TikTok marketing campaigns from the Shopify dashboard.

Lately, brands have been testing other social commerce features, and, according to Glossy, the app just launched an app on Samsung Smart TVs in Europe and entered a shoppable live streaming partnership with Walmart.

It would be wise to keep an eye out for online video marketing opportunities now, with TikTok projected to have 120.3 million monthly active users in the United States by 2023.

Instagram shopping is going ever deeper, giving TikTok a run for its money.

Instagram is hot on TikTok’s tails in terms of shopping integration. The picture-sharing giant’s Reels feature, created to compete with TikTok directly, launched a shopping option within the Reels feature just in time for the winter holidays, according to an article in The Verge. That means users have even more opportunities to access and purchase goods or services straight from the Instagram app. Through a brand’s page, users can shop in Reels directly, browse the shopping page, or through the Stories feature.

Another bold prediction to note: Instagram will be the second-highest return on investment for marketers in 2021, according to G2.

There’s still something to be said about Twitter’s modest video marketing opportunities.

This year, a startup skincare brand called Topicals decided to do what not many skincare brands do: They put their new marketing eggs in the Twitter basket. With Instagram the usual go-to for beauty companies, Topical wanted a less noisy platform, according to an article in Digiday. And it worked. About half of Topicals’ revenue in its first month came from Twitter, Digiday reported. Now they have nearly 18,000 Twitter followers and routinely post about realistic skincare concerns and unedited photos shamelessly displaying acne breakouts and eczema flare-ups.

Keep in mind that videos on Twitter are short, and the site suggests keeping them to 15 seconds or less to accompany a Tweet.

Amazon live video marketing is offering even more online shopping content.

Healthcare workers and Amazon employees were among the people put to the ultimate test in their professions during the pandemic. While COVID-19 threatened public health, people turned to the online retailer to avoid trips to the store during the pandemic.

In the third quarter alone, the company brought in $6.3 billion in income, compared to $2.1 billion in net income from the same quarter the year prior. According to an article in TechCrunch, that was without the boost from Prime Day, which is usually in the third quarter but postponed to October last year.

Of course, all that growth means huge opportunities for online video marketing content on the site. Since 2019, Amazon has had a live video feature allowing brands and influencers to go live on the app to share tips about products. Then, in September 2020, Amazon launched a feature for virtual classes and sightseeing tours called Amazon Experiences. All those features are expected to grow into the coming year, according to an article in Forbes.

Other e-commerce platforms for small businesses are jumping on the video trends.

Smaller e-commerce platforms are also encouraging users to add video to their listings. Etsy, a platform specializing in handmade goods, announced it was encouraging sellers to add videos to their listings. The site suggested creating videos that answer frequently asked questions, showed products in use, and highlighted creative details, according to an article on EcommerceBytes.

YouTube will continue chopping away for a solid foothold in online video marketing innovation into 2021.

The online video giant is testing video building and sequencing options, according to Smart Insights. It’s also the platform people turn to when they’re seriously considering buying a product or service, with product views accounting for 50,000 years-worth of streaming time on YouTube, according to Business 2 Community.

Don’t forget about Facebook — still an online video marketing powerhouse

There are an impressive 8 billion videos viewed each day on Facebook. According to Smart Insights, the Facebook algorithm is designed to favor posts that see more engagement, with video posts routinely seeing the highest engagement rates on the platform.

When tailoring online video marketing content to Facebook, remember that 85% of videos on Facebook are watched with the sound muted — be sure to include captions or emphasize visual cues in videos you plan to post to that platform.

Also, Facebook videos that are between 65 seconds and five minutes long perform the best, according to Oberlo.

Alright 2021, let’s do this!

We hope you enjoyed the rundown of online video marketing predictions and strategies for the coming year. Although 2020 threw businesses quite a curveball, we’ve all come out the other end much wiser and more prepared to take on any surprises the new year may have in store.

Visual Media Co is here to help you craft your unique visual story with cinematic business video.

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